Battle for Britain’s best brew: budget Asda teabag comes out top

The battle for the nation’s best brew is usually a face-off between the usual big-brand suspects. But this year, a supermarket own-brand teabag has come out on top.Asda’s Everyday teabags were crowned the best cuppa of 2024 by the consumer group Which?. The budget brew, which costs £1.20 for 80 bags, achieved the top score of 72% in a blind tasting by 79 “experienced and committed” tea drinkers

‘The best crumpets you’ll ever buy’: 19 of the best indie food products

From pasta made in Cumbria to biscuits from the Isle of Mull: our expert picks the best small food producers in Britain and Ireland – and where to find their productsThe Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Good ingredients beget good food, and where you buy them from is just as important as how you use them. Happily, there are plenty of talented, independent makers and growers in the UK and Ireland, producing everything from pasta and charcuterie to shortbread, tinned fish, apple juice and crumpets

How to make dan dan noodles – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

According to Fuchsia Dunlop, dan dan noodles are named after the cry of hawkers roaming the streets of Chengdu with their wares hanging from a dan (or bamboo pole) across their shoulders. This is a firecracker of a dish: intensely savoury, and hot with smoky chilli and tingly Sichuan peppercorns, it’s traditionally served in small portions. But some rules are made to be broken.Prep 10 min Cook 20 min Serves 21 tbsp Sichuan yibin yacai (pickled mustard greens; see step 1)2 spring onions 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns 1 tbsp groundnut oil 100g minced pork (see steps 8 and 9)1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine 1 tsp light soy sauce 175g fresh flour and water noodlesFor the sauce4 tbsp light soy sauce 2-4 tbsp Sichuan roasted chilli oil, with sediment, to taste2 tsp Chianking black rice vinegar ½ tsp white sugar (optional)All these ingredients are widely available in Chinese grocers and online. If the mustard greens prove elusive, however, Tianjin preserved vegetables (rinsed first) make a decent substitute, or try a mixture of rinsed and finely chopped kimchi and capers for a similar combination of heat and salt, albeit with a different flavour profile

Here’s a great tip! Asparagus among Australia’s best-value fruit and veg for September

Brassicas, broad beans and big blueberries are the best buys for the month – but it’s hard to find a good bananaAccording to Melbourne greengrocer John Biviano, the best thing about spring is asparagus, with the local Victorian season in Australia’s largest asparagus-growing district, Koo Wee Rup, off to a good start.He says growers have already offered him green and white asparagus. “It’s a sign of how good this season is going to be,” says Biviano, who owns Biviano & Sons in Melbourne’s Fairfield.Local green asparagus is starting at about $3.99 a bunch, but will come down within weeks to under $2 a bunch

What makes a good savoury crumble? | Kitchen aide

“In theory, savoury crumbles are a really good idea, so I don’t get why we don’t make them more often,” says Esther Clark, who writes The Good Home Cook Substack. Perhaps it’s because their sweet sibling – apple, blackberry, rhubarb, pear – is such an icon, but, as Clark notes, “Crumbles are incredibly forgiving: they go into one tin, so there’s barely any washing-up, and they freeze well, too, making them a good weeknight number.”The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more

Squash them flat, pile them high: the rise and rise of the smash burger

Forget those plump pillows of beef or chicken – today’s gourmet burgers are increasingly wide, flat and crispy. But what’s behind the trend? And what’s next?Food trends move at incredible speed – but even so, the rise of the smash burger has been remarkable. Less than a year ago, this style – essentially, burgers rendered as wider, flatter, crispier patties, for maximum flavour – was a fairly niche concern. An enthusiastic hardcore, including Newcastle’s Meat: Stack, Danny’s Burgers in Bristol and Slap & Pickle’s mainly northern outlets, had been serving “smashed” burgers for some years. In October 2022, Honest Burgers introduced a few smash-style burgers to its menu, too